Methods you use to reduce anxiety

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,228]

Some of us many experience very trouble anxiety problems. These can be as simple as a little bit of uneasiness or straight up terror or paranoia. It comes in all kinds! For those that experience anxiety like me, what methods do you use to try and reduce this anxiety?

 

Me, I have a few different ideas for when this happens. I will play a video game that I love, I may go walking and hang out with my brother, I may listen to music or maybe even just have a nice snack or meal while watching videos. If it gets very very bad I may take a small medication to help ease my mind and keep my mellow for a few hours, it can work wonders when it is all going crazy. Another big help for me, is talking with my lovely friends on the forums. You all are awesome. 

 

What are some of your methods to help with your anxiety problems?

[Venomous 18,813]

I am perscribed medication to reduce my anxiety.

[Sheheuwi9sidufud7eiwkn3 75]

What kind of anxiety? Like anxiety before a test/important work is due, job interviews, etc like that? Or is it more along the lines of being under pressure to make the right choice?

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,228]

I am perscribed medication to reduce my anxiety.

I hope to have the same thing soon, anything like that could really help me in the long run. 

 

 

What kind of anxiety? Like anxiety before a test/important work is due, job interviews, etc like that? Or is it more along the lines of being under pressure to make the right choice?

Pretty much any kind of anxiety at all! In my case, I have crippling anxiety that makes me have panic attacks and different things, it is really rough. For many others anxiety could just be simple anticipation or worry, any of these perfectly counts for this thread.

[Sheheuwi9sidufud7eiwkn3 75]

The only way for me to calm down when I get anxious is to just resolve what is making me anxious in the first place. Like if I need to get a lot of work done, I just have to get it done. I know it isn't very intuitive but I hope it helps. 

[LadyCoco 130]

Well, this is an interesting topic. I know that everybody deal differently with panic attack. For me works sleep a little, eat something whit sugar (A cookie, some candy, everything work) or even read some book, comic or fanfic to distract myself of the reality.

Usually I have panic attacks in places full of people I dont know, like malls or supermakets, so I ask my mother if I can hold her hand. Physical contact also helps me.

Edited May 29, 2021 by Sochy
Correct my english.

[Sky Knight 1,172]

I try to put my mind in a different place other than the now but this can take a lot of practice to make full use of.

[Sunwalker 981]

I don't know if this counts as anxiety, but sometimes when I see something that angers me it keeps being rehashed inside my head, and the anxiety keeps growing and growing. Then it reaches a point that I start panicking, a million of things goes through my head, my heart rate gets accelerated (150 bpm last time I measured) and I start breathing faster. It lasts less than a minute, but my heart and breath keeps faster than the usual for some time. I am not sure if this is what people call a "panic attack". Fortunately this does no happen often, and I got better at preventing it (last time was three weeks ago).

 

I have learned how it feels before it starts, so I when I notice it I try to divert my attention to something else, I avoiding thinking about whatever triggered it and I pray. Most of the times I can avoid it, but if it happens anyways then I try to calm myself by watching something or praying. I also drink and eat something, because it puts a lot of strain on my body and I get really tired, so I need to recover my energy.

[frecklesareblooming 225]

I take hot baths, listen to music, watch MLP or anime, browse the forums, watch funny YouTube videos, and write short stories. If I'm somewhere I can't access these things for one reason or another, I take calming breaths and think about something happy - like Twilight or a family size cheese pizza all for myself. 

[Steel Accord 6,658]

Usually I call up my parents or brothers to talk about what's bothering me. Otherwise I'll either meditate or else pop up a Nostalgia Critic video.

[Mars Orbit 729]

I'm all about that music.

I'll just put on something calm and relax for a while.

[Dark Horse 12,795]

Well, this is a bit difficult for me to put all into words as anxiety has been a significant factor of my life since an early age, so I'm sorry if I get carried away here talking about my own experiences, but I feel I need to address it first.

 

I remember my first ever experience of a panic attack when I was at the cinema watching The Return of the King, I was 12 at the time. Not sure how else to put it other then I thought I was gonna die. Seems almost silly looking back at it...

 

So since then, I suffered from pretty bad cases of anxiety in my early to mid teenage years, it was not a nice experience. That feeling of being 'trapped' by your own emotions, so to speak, I was too paranoid to ever want to try anything new in my life. I'd get worried any time my parents left the house and would be calling them up wondering where they are if I didn't hear from them for a while. I hated feeling alone, that if something where to happen to me and no one I knew was around to help I'd be screwed. I was happy to just stay in my room and other places that I felt "safe", with people that I knew always on hand to help me. But I think I knew deep down that it couldn't last. As I got older I'd have to become more independent, I'd have to go to college/work by myself, perhaps even far away from home, into the bustling city by myself, full of strangers I didn't know, where anything could have happened. I was pretty scared by knowing that whole ordeal lay ahead, and I didn't think I'd ever be able to manage it.

 

Well, here I am just a few years later, and looking back at all that I find it pretty shocking just how much self-confidence I've built up since then. The days of me worrying over every single little detail in my life and the "what could go wrongs" seem pretty far away, and I'm really glad to have made such significant steps and knocked down the mental barriers that were holding me back from so many things in life. Don't get me wrong, I'm not 100% free from anxiety, I don't think I ever will be, but it's no longer the crippling handicap stopping me from doing what I want to do in life.

 

I still get anxious around crowds and busy places, or whenever I'm in unfamiliar territory. Public transport isn't really something I enjoy either. Whenever I'm on the bus I just plug in music and let my mind drift. I don't know where I'd be in my life without music, it certainly helps you just forget about the world around you for a while. Reading is also a really good way of letting your mind drift away. I love going out for walks in the park, ironically these days I like to be by myself for a while when I get stressed out, just lay on the grass and let the world roll by, hear all the different sounds, both natural and man-made. It's quite serene. At night, I just like to kick back, have a snack and watch some of my favorite programs on Netflix or my favorite Youtubers doing Let's Plays. And of course, talking with the really awesome people either here or on Skype.  Sometimes it's nice to just get a whole load off your mind.

 

...and I think I may have overdone that here.

[Lexamena 391]

My anxiety does not feel like panic attacks, but more like a constant level of heightened awareness. Sometimes it does kick up several notches when i have certain experiences. Like when my boss talks to me or at interviews or annual reviews, or speaking or performing in front a group. I get anxiety before dentist appts, doctors appts, or if my doorbell or phone rings. Hell, i get anxious over posts i make in this forum and others reactions to me. Those situations usually mean a short burst of more than usual anxiety. If i get a job assignment that i stress about, that anxiety can last for days or weeks, wakes me up at night, disrupts my thinking throughout the day and can even ruin my weekends. On a daily basis, I am usually rehashing all of my interactions that took place during the day and cringing about them.

 

The way i deal with it is either of two ways. I repeat a mantra to myself, "will this day even matter in 5 years time?" or "you are not going to die if you do ____. You will survive."

 

Or i force myself to step outside myself and look in at me the way i look at everyone else, as a perfectly capable person. And tell the me "from this perspective, that's a tiny, petty, dumb thing to be worried about. This job is not supposed to be stressful, its an easy job. Calm down, you will figure it out.“

 

I think the key for me is to find a way to shrink down my fear and the looming thing causing the fear to normal proportion and reshape my perception to what i think some other normal person would do in the situation. It doesn't fix everything every time, but it does help quite a bit.

 

What i would really like is to figure out how to get the anxiety to GO AWAY. Why do things bother me so much? How can i stop stressing and letting things scare me? Why cant i just not gaf? Maybe someday ill just stop.

Edited July 16, 2015 by Lexamena

[alpinefroggy 451]

I ask myself these question when I am anxious about something: Can I control it? And if I can is it something I really should be worried about? Yes or no. If no then it's not something I should be worried about. If yes then I make a plan on how to tackle it and realize that being anxious isn't going to change the outcome it's just going to make me feel sick. Just go along with what I have to do and focus on the task at hand.

 

A somewhat non serious example: high xc races: I hated them a lot of the time. Taxing to the mind and body to push through it sometimes. I got really nervous before them but I then applied this. Could I control it? Yes and no. Yes I could back out of it but no doing it is fulfilling and why j do xc anyways. Is it something I should be worried about? No it isn't. It's a race for high school and it's outcome isn't going to change what I am doing for the rest of my life. Not something I should worry about and they became real fun after that

[SquipyCheetah 448]

I normally just think in silence while breathing in and out deeply. It's something my middle school Orchestra teacher taught me since I had major anxiety back then

[Raito 28]

The most effective way for me is meditation, ever since i started I am no longer afflicted by anxiety.

[Jeremiah 1,586]

When I have anxiety I say “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” Apparently it is a buddhist mantra but I say it anyway... it gives me balance.

Edited July 16, 2015 by SunsetMaster

[Finia 260]

I have fear of dogs. But i've sorta tackled the problem. Let them bark, and even if i face stuff i dont like then that wont stop me. We live once afterall. So its just about dont giving up, being with people and do your best. And always cheer up, or give a nudge to sorta take action.

 

Either way, giving is the same as taking. 'cause you get something in return

[Sunwalker 981]

When I am on the bus or on the train, sometimes I get anxious in hearing many people to talk. The way I found to deal with this is to put some earphones and listen to music.

 

I like classical music, and I have loaded my phone with them. I subscribe to an unlimited music service, which makes easier to have a wide selection of music, so I do not get bored with listening to the same thing all the time .

[Dark_Moon 14]

I daydream (the whole entire day 'cause there are people around me that I don't know, always. PANICK!!!!!!)

[AtomicStone 723]

I'm still kinda trying to figure out what I need to do that would deal with my anxiety and awkwardness towards people. It even happens around my family sometimes.. The weird thing is that sometimes I can be really confident and social around people I dont even know.. But other times, not so much. Honestly it's been stressing me out a lot recently and I'm trying to figure out what to do about it.

[DeadAccount 4,603]

I always rely on water to calm me down <3 Otherwise I come here on the forums or reading a book.

[Sunwalker 981]

I remembered other things that I do.

 

Taking a shower always gets me calmer. I also like to drink hot cocoa or tea. I heard that chamomile tea is calming, and it is my favorite, it smells and tastes great .

[Invincible 2,090]

I just shut my mind off and autopilot it. Whenever i have to perform something i'm anxious about, i figure out the less i think about it the better. Taking the headlong dive is sometimes terrifying, but necessary.

[OkBuddy 586]

I heard that excersise is one of the best ways to remove anxiety. I mean when you do it, your brain releases the chemicals like dopamine that help combat such things as anxiety. Plus, there can also be other rewards in doing so.